Pusri to build organic fertilizer factory

Palembang-based fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Sriwijaja in collaboration with the Ministry of Research and Technology is to build an organic fertilizer factory in Sunter, North Jakarta.

The factory will turn 1,000 tons of organic garbage per day into organic fertilizer, Zainal Soedjais, the president director of PT Pusri on Tuesday.

"The factory is expected to help address garbage problems in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta," Zainal said in the South Sumatra capital of Palembang, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Minister of Research and Technology, Hatta Radjasa.

The MoU was signed at Pusri's headquarters in Palembang.

After the signing of the MoU, Radja said that the Jakarta plant, which would be built at a cost of Rp 100 billion (US$12.5 million), was expected to start operating within three months.

Under the MoU, the Jakarta administration would supply the Pusri factory in Sunter with as much fresh garbage as it needed in raw material, and in turn the factory would turn it into organic fertilizer. The company was expected to be able to process 1,000 tons of fresh garbage per day.

According to Radjasa, Jakarta produced at least 7,000 tons of garbage every day, 5,000 tons of which could be recycled into organic fertilizer.

Zainal said that the construction of the factory would benefit PT Pusri, as it would get free raw materials for the production of organic fertilizer. But, the Jakarta administration would benefit from the plan as well as it would be able to get rid of some of Jakarta's garbage.

Garbage has long been a problem for the Jakarta administration.

The Jakarta administration has entered into a contract with the Bekasi administration that allows it to dispose of its garbage at the Bantargebang dump in Bekasi.

The contract will end in December this year, but it is not clear yet whether the Bekasi administration will extend the contract. There have been prolonged protests by Bantargebang residents, who have been demanding that the garbage dump be closed.

Zainal added that farmers were the third group that would benefit from the project. He said that the organic fertilizer would be sold to the farmers at Rp 700 per kilogram, far below the normal market price of Rp 1,000 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, Zainal also said that if the project was a success, similar factories would be also built in other areas, including Palembang. Palembang's daily garbage output was quite large at 500 tons of garbage per day, he said. -- Antara